The Region's Security Outlook

By Evan Ellis

Dr. Evan Ellis is a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute with a focus on the region's relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors.  He has published over 120 works, including the 2009 book China in Latin America: The Whats and Wherefores, the 2013 book The Strategic Dimension of Chinese Engagement with Latin America, and the 2014 book, China on the Ground in Latin America.

President Barack Obama’s trip to Argentina and Cuba gives welcome attention to the dynamics and challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean. While designed to capitalize and build upon positive developments in both countries, it also invites reflection on what will be his legacy there.

At the beginning of his term, President Obama introduced himself to Latin America and the Caribbean with an address at the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain that contained a message of both U.S. respect for and commitment to its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere, raising hopes for a different and positive engagement with the United States.  Yet as has happened with both his Republican and Democratic predecessors since the end of the Cold War, pressing domestic challenges and events in other parts of the world pulled the President’s attention away.

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